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As I have mentioned before, I have a favorite breakfast cookbook that features recipes from various Bed and Breakfasts on the West Coast. I have made oatmeal muffins from one of their recipes that we liked which included peaches.I learned in Indonesia that mangos work well when peaches are not available. (We had a mango tree in our back yard there.) So since I had no peaches but several ripe Ataulfo Mangos, I chopped them into the batter for our muffins – a new breakfast favorite!

1 1/4 cups flour

1 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 Tablespoons molasses

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup peeled, chopped fresh mangos

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, mix wet ingredients and add to dry ingredients. Mix just until blended. Batter will be lumpy. Stir in mangos. Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until muffins are done.

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I look for ways to add vegetables, particularly leafy greens, to our meals. We enjoyed this made up on the spot dish for breakfast recently, but it would also be good for a light lunch or late supper. Add a slice of crusty French bread if you like, but whole grain toast was just right for our early breakfast.

Pepperoni and Spinach Eggs for Two

4 cups baby spinach leaves, washed and patted dry

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

2 eggs

8-10 slices pepperoni

Heat olive oil in an iron skillet, add onions and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add spinach, tossing and cooking until spinach is wilted. Break eggs into cooking spinach, scatter with pepperoni slices, and cover for 3-4 minutes, or until eggs are as done as you wish. Remove from skillet to serving plates and add slices of crisp whole grain toast.

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Long before my cookbook collection grew, and even longer before internet and Google,I clipped recipes from the newspaper and taped them to note cards to save. This recipe is taped to a bright pink card;the newsprint is yellowed. Our young family members loved these tender little bites as much as Joe and I did. Fun to make and fun to eat! They did not last long once out of the oven and rolled in cinnamon and sugar! There are a variety of recipes online with a variety of names – Muffin Doughnuts, French Puffs, Doughnut Muffins.

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Most of my recipes are for average quantity and number of servings. I could give you this as a recipe serving 8 people. But last week when I made it, it was for Joe and me, 2 generous servings. You can easily double or triple if you wish, but this is how the breakfast pictured was made. We thought it was delicious! It is a variation of a breakast casserole found in, Breakfast in Bed, a collection of the best B&B recipes from Northern California to British Columbia by Carol Frieberg.

Pepperoni Eggs

1/2 cup torn pieces of sour dough bread

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk (see directions)

1/3 cup shredded Mozarella

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I use Penzey’s Tuscan Sunset blend)

pinch of salt

8 pepperoni slices

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a small baking dish and cover bottom with bread piece. Add all but 1 Tablespoon cheese. Break 2 eggs into a liquid measuring cup with a pouring spout. Add seasonings and fill the rest of the cup with milk. Pour this mixture evenly over bread and cheese and sprinkle remaining grated cheese on top. Bake for 30 minutes, or until set. 2 servings.

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These muffin shaped treats are a nice make ahead or on the go breakfast and are a good choice for Easter brunch. They are pretty on a plate and easy to reheat. Variations might include adding chopped crisp bacon, crumbled cooked pork sausage or diced ham. Cheddar or Montery Jack Cheese can be subbed for the Swiss.

Muffin Cup Quiche

One roll crescent roll dough

4 eggs

1/2 cup milk or half and half

1/3 cup diced red pepper or chopped pimiento

2 green onions, sliced thin

1/2 cup finely chopped smoked sausage

1 teaspoon dried thyme.

salt and freshly ground pepper

4 oz Swiss cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Spray a 12 serving muffin tin with cooking spray.

Pop open the crescent roll dough and separate the 8 triangles on a flat surface.Then lay the big end of each over 8 muffin cups, cutting the “tail” that is leftover. You will use all these tails to make 4 more muffin cups. Press dough into muffin cups. The edges will be uneven, but after baking, create a rustic tart crust.

In a bowl, whisk eggs, milk, thyme, salt and pepper.

Divide vegetables and chopped sausage evenly between each muffin cup. Repeat with egg mixture and sprinkle grated cheese on top. Bake for 12 minutes, or until filling is set and crust beginning to brown.

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This is another great breakfast bake that you assemble the night before and bake before serving the next morning. To tell the truth, I have assembled it on the morning I am serving, but flavors are better blended when it sits in the refrigerator overnight. We used a jar of peaches from a shop in Wharton that was home canned from local peaches. But you can do this well with canned peaches. I also substituted a good whole grain bread for French bread. If you freeze leftovers, be sure to reheat in your oven, not the microwave.

Peach French Toast Bake

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, cubed

2 tablespoons water

1 can (29 ounces) sliced peaches, drained

12 slices day-old French bread (3/4 inch thick)

5 large eggs

1-1/2 cups milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract. Yes, that is 1 Tablespoon!

Ground cinnamon

In a small saucepan, bring brown sugar, butter, and water to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour into a greased 13×9-in. baking dish; top with peaches. Arrange bread over peaches.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, and vanilla; evenly pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. . Uncover; bake 25-30 minutes longer or until golden brown and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm with maple syrup..Yield: 6-8 servings

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In 1991 while traveling in Scotland, we stopped at a Tea Room. The rustic crispiness of these scones reminds me of 200 year old Shore Cottage Tearoom in Taynuilt, Argyll, where Lily McNaught, her daughters, and granddaughters baked sweets and treats. Thanks to online information, I see that Shore Cottage is still there but not as a “Tea Room” – the ladies moved the business to The Robins Nest on Main Street, Taynuilt and guess what – the Lunch, the Teas, the Cakes, everything is just as it was. This is not one of their recipes, but my granddaughter Maddie and I baked them together. Surely Miss Lily approves.

Cranberry Ricotta Scones

2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon orange zest

4 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into tiny pieces

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup (Whole Milk) Ricotta Cheese

3 tablespoons Whole Milk

1 cup cranberries, fresh, roughly chopped

Whisk the following together to brush over scones before baking

1 large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon milk or water

extra sugar to sprinkle over top.

Orange Glaze

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 400°(F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

In a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and orange zest.

Cut the butter into small cubes then, using two forks or a pastry cutter, quickly work it into the mixture until it resembles a coarse meal. Set aside.

In a small bowl whisk together the egg, ricotta cheese, and milk. Add to flour and butter mixture and use a fork to stir everything together until just moistened.

Add in the chopped cranberries and gently fold them into dough with a spatula.

Pour the dough out onto a clean, lightly floured work surface and shape the dough into an 8-inch circle. Cut the dough into 8 wedges and carefully transfer them to the prepared sheet. Leave an inch or so between each scone as they do spread a little.

Lightly brush each scone with the egg wash, then sprinkle the top of each scone with sugar.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden brown. Cool scones on the pan for 10 minutes, then top with glaze and serve warm.

For the glaze:

In a small bowl whisk together the orange juice, zest, salt, and confectioners sugar. Drizzle over warm scones and serve at once.

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We are baking Christmas breads and Christmas cookies, so when I made this quiche a couple of nights ago, I dubbed it “Christmas Quiche.” Joe says it is my best effort for quiche so far, and I make alot of different ones, so this one is a keeper. I have an old cookbook from The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas. One day I noticed a quiche recipe in it titled Quiche with Character. I like recipe names that catch my eye, so modeled this recipe after that one. Adding chilies, green onions and olives with pimiento makes both appearance and flavor festive – a Christmas quiche!

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This quiche made a lovely Saturday morning breakfast for us, but it is just as good for lunch or a late supper. I experimented with using a different ingredient and found that a cup of Greek Yogurt works well with other traditional quiche ingredients. I used a heaping cup of chopped ham here, but will try it soon with chopped fresh vegetables instead. Serve with fresh fruit or green salad tossed with a citrus vinaigrette.

Ham and Swiss Quiche with Greek Yogurt

1 9 or 10 inch pie unbaked pie crust

1 generous cup chopped ham

1 cup grated swiss cheese

1 shallot, sliced very thin

3 large eggs

1 cup Greek yogurt

2/3 cup milk

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg. (a pinch!)

1/2 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fit the unbaked pie crust into Quiche baking dish. Sprinkle chopped ham over bottom of crust, top with 3/4 of the grated cheese, reserving 1/4 cup. Scatter thinly sliced shallot over this mixture. In a medium bowl, beat eggs and add yogurt and milk with nutmeg,

In a medium bowl, beat eggs and add yogurt and milk with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.. Blend, then pour slowly over ham and cheese. Top with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and sprinkle extra nutmeg over top if desired. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

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This recipe is available several places online. I made it for the first time last week, but it won’t be the last time! When blueberries are in season and available for good prices, I buy enough to freeze, so I used frozen blueberries which worked great. Whether using fresh or frozen, be sure to put the berries in a ziploc bag with 1/4 cup flour and toss. This keeps the berries from sinking to the bottom in a soggy clump. Then, fold the flour-coated fruit into the batter as the very last step before baking. This coating absorbs some of the liquid released by the fruit as it bakes and keeps the fruit in place until the crumb has set. This works for any fruit called for in a recipe as well as any other ingredients, like nuts, dried fruit, and chocolate chips. You can use this trick when baking muffins, cupcakes, scones, or any quick bread.

Blueberry Breakfast Cake

½ cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar, diviided (Save out 1 Tablespoon sugar for topping)

2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

2 cups fresh blueberries

½ cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.

In a ziploc bag, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour and set aside.

Combine the remaining flour, baking powder and salt and add to batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries gently.

Grease a 9-inch square baking pan with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle with another tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness and if necessary, return to oven until toothpick comes out clean..